Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1968 (SND Vol. VII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1822
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PIRLET, n. Also pirlit. A puny, deformed or battered-looking person, an “object”. Only in Galt.Ayr. 1822 Galt Sir A. Wylie v., ciii.:
A pretty pirlit ye'll be; me leading you hame, blend and bleeding, wi' a napkin or an auld stocking tied round your head. . . . Miss Mizy judiciously protested . . . that it would be a disgrace to them for ever to pass through the town with such a pirlet of a driver.
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"Pirlet n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 8 Feb 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/pirlet>
